Newspaper poll shows strong support for higher milk prices for farmers
UK - An overwhelming majority of the public believe dairy farmers are being paid too little for their milk and, by implication, would support an increase in producer price.That is the clear message from an online poll carried out by the Daily Telegraph’s Business section yesterday, Wednesday. In response to the question ‘Do farmers get paid enough for their milk?’, 92 per cent voted “no”, and only 8 per cent said “yes”.
NFU dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones said the outcome of the poll showed once again it was the malfunctioning of the milk supply chain that was keeping prices to farmers at a ruinously low level, not the realities of the market.
He said: “We shall be sending a copy of the results of this survey to every supermarket and milk processor.
“It demonstrates, quite categorically, there is scope to lift prices to milk producers without risking consumer resistance. In fact, the evidence suggests that if supermarkets loosen their stranglehold on the milk price, it could make them more popular with their customers, not less.
“This is not the only evidence that consumers understand very well that if low prices destroy the British dairy industry – which is a very real threat – then they will be the losers in the end. The huge support that the Women’s Institute’s milk price campaign has had across the country is equally impressive.
“Consumer support like this gives us a window of opportunity to lift the crisis in the dairy industry, as the first step in working towards a supply chain that delivers fair rewards for good products, to everyone involved in it including the dairy farmer.”
TheCattleSite News Desk